What You Need to Know

August 13, 2014

The Tuesday Takeaway
The Nationals dropped two of three to the Braves over the weekend, shrinking their division lead to 3 1/2 games. A visit to Citi Field was just what the doctor ordered to stop any potential skid in its tracks.

With eight straight wins at the ballpark in Queens and 23 in their past 27 games there, the Nats have been guests of honor in the Mets home. Terry Collins’ club was a friendly host again on Tuesday, going down with only an eighth-inning whimper on a night when the visitors lit up the New York sky.

Rookie Mets starter Rafael Montero got through the first inning unscathed, but Bryce Harper denied him a second goose egg with an opposite-field blast in the next frame:

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I went to the Nats-Mets game. I noticed that Fister seemed to work much faster than Montero, and made a mental note to look it up on BP. Sure enough, Fister is pretty much the second fastest pitcher out there. Also was able to learn more about Taylor, who certainly had an impressive debut. And this is why I love BP.

Thanks for the Cespedes clip. I saw a lot of fans cheering after he hit the home run and later read that a lot cheered when the Sox won, suggesting that many fans were not rooting for the home team. I hope that a few of the fans cheering for Cespedes were Cardinals fans appreciative of his perfect response to a prior fastball that buzzed by his head. I liked that Cespedes didn't look at the pitcher after he hit the homer and just kept his head down as he trotted around the bases. He's a better man than I!